211 - Steyn City

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Rating: 8.5

Steyn City is a place like nothing I have ever visited before. When you approach the gates it is like you are entering a theme park, something like Disneyland Paris.

Once the security checks are done you enter the premises and this place is vast. It is like a mini Utopia on the outskirts of South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg. Complete with a school, helipad, equestrian center, basically anything that your heart can desire.

A short drive through the property, past the apartment blocks, helipad and housing plots you get to the golf course. You don’t actually get to see much of it on the drive in but once you have parked up and head towards the pro shop you get a first glimpse of the spectacular first hole. A 360 meter par 4 teeing off over the Jukskei River, the hole bends to the left with a wonderfully manicured fairway in front of you.

The course is a Jack Nicklaus design and really offers a great variety of holes. It is a challenging but forgiving course all in the same sense. At 6,600 meters it looks long but don’t forget this is at elevation where the ball travels further. The holes are still long, especially the par 3’s. Take the 9th hole for example, a 170 meter par 3 hitting over a creek into a breeze. Club up here to avoid ending up in the stream but don’t go too long because you’ll end up in the clubhouse.

The par 4’s all had their own twists and turns and challenges, some littered with bunkers, others utilizing water features. It is forgiving in its width but I still found myself trying to aim for precise spots with my driver instead of getting up and giving it a whack.

Apart from the great design and the excellent conditioning of the course the one thing that stood out here was the hospitality. From the time I arrived it was super friendly and they went out of their way to make you feel appreciated. The starter guides you down to the first tee and offers you a selection of fruit. Your clubs get picked up and put on the bag of your cart and if you don’t watch closely you’ll miss them cleaning your clubs for you. Your order for the halfway house is taken in advance to keep your round moving smoothly. All the maintenance staff were super friendly and you can see why the course is in such good condition, I was barely off a tee box before guys were already spreading seed on to keep them looking so fresh.

The overall experience is great, you get range balls included in the green fee so be sure to make good use of the practice facilities for your round. For R1,750 a round for an international visitor it is excellent value for money. I could not recommend playing here more highly!